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Calvin Jacobs
Calvin Jacobs Calvin Lauren Jacobs is a fictional character in the Love is in the Bag graphic novel series of Alturia Hill Publishing and Studio Studio written by Ace Vitangcol and illustrated by Jed Siroy. Calvin is the object of Kate Mennella's affections, but he is very dense and doesn't quite notice her. Calvin is also a very talented basketball player, and goes by the nickname "The Basketball Beethoven." Character History ''Background Calvin Jacobs debuted in Love is in the Bag Volume 1, which was first published in January 2008. Jed Siroy designed him to look like the perfect boy next door, with long bangs and a kind expression on his face. Calvin transferred from London to Saint Xander International School a year prior to the storyline, and has become one of the most popular students on campus. He is a basketball prodigy, whose skills far exceed that of any average high school student. He is a Point Guard who is incredibly adept at running a team's offense and creating magical plays. He possesses a special ability to make a ball change directions with every bounce, making it difficult to intercept his passes. His talent has earned him the nickname of "Basketball Beethoven," opposite his rival Mark Spencer, the "Basketball Mozart." Off the court, Calvin is a star student and is a member of other sports clubs like Tennis and Swimming with Kara Francesco. While he is very athletic and intelligent, he still doesn't seem to notice Kate Mennella, whom Kara keeps trying to introduce to him. While the authors are of Filipino descent, and Calvin is described as a transferee student from London, the characters' nationalities--and the location of the story--are kept vague to give the story a more universal appeal. Only three characters (Calvin Jacobs, Mark Spencer, and Genevieve Van Heusen) are described as transferees from London. A fourth character, H????, is from Japan. Character Calvin is the quintissential boy next door. Armed with boyish good looks, talent at sports and academics, and a very approachable and kind demeanor, he is every girl's object of affection at Saint Xander. He is also very obedient, especially to his swimming team captain, Kara Francesco. However, no matter how many times Kara tries to set him up with her best friend Kate Mennella, Calvin is unable to get around the concept that she turns into a bag, often assuming that she disappeared or left the room without him noticing. This comedy gag is used often in the first two books, though Calvin eventually begins to understand and cope with Kate's condition midway through the series. Like Kate Mennella, Calvin is also very chaste and conservative. He is a gentleman and is old-fashioned when it comes to romance, preferring to go on movie dates, dinner dates, and long walks in the park. He is also chivalrous and is willing to sacrifice for the people he cares for. He can be slow to come to a realization of how to handle problems, but throughout the series he eventually comes around and finds solutions. Calvin is 17 years old and is a senior at Saint Xander International High School where he is in class 4-A. None of the other main characters are his classmates. He lives with his mother, who is unnamed and never seen except for notes she leaves him (one example is in volume 4). His father is likewise never seen in the main series. Calvin's parents are not divorced; it is insinuated that his dad works overseas --possibly London -- and Calvin frequently talks to him over the phone, as shown at the start of volume 5. Calvin's parents are seen briefly in the spin-off coloring book, Calvin Goes to School, published by WS Publishing. Calvin is the only character in the series to be shown drinking coffee on a regular basis. Basketball Rivalry with Mark Spencer On the basketball court, Calvin is a terrific leader and teammate, able to rally and inspire other players to elevated levels of play. He is tenacious and extremely hardworking, often pushing his body past its limit. His competitive nature reveals itself fully when he competes against his childhood rival, Mark Spencer from Kripbam International High School, the so-called "Basketball Mozart." Calvin and Mark grew up together in London, where they both developed a love for basketball at an early age. They've been competing against each other ever since. Both players were motivated by the rivalry, and they relished every game that they play against one another. Mark notably more inspired by this rivalry, and when Calvin's parents decide to move elsewhere, Mark convinced his family to follow him. They enrolled at different school, both with bad records in the previous season. Both players managed to turn their respective teams around, and in the storyline they are now the top two teams in the league. While Mark Spencer is a near-unstoppable scoring machine, Calvin is more of a distributor, getting his teammates into a good tempo and finding the open player for a basket. Calvin is often seen passing to his teammate Ralph Gucci for an open three pointer in the corner, or driving to the basket and passing off at the last moment to center Elliot Cardin for an open lay-up. 'Match-Ups with Kripbam' ' SPOILER WARNING ''' In volume 2, their first match in the storyline and the ending of the first round of competition, Calvin outwitted Mark by forcing the latter to assume too much of the offensive load. Saint Xander played a 1-4 zone and forced Mark to go one-on-one against Calvin. The Basketball Mozart continued scoring at a good rate (finishing with a monstrous 59 points, 24 rebounds and 6 blocks. He had no assists in the game), but it wasn't enough to counteract a balanced attack by Saint Xander. Fueled by Calvin Jacobs' pin-point passing, Saint Xander defeated Kripbam in the first round by a hair, 66-65. Calvin led the team with 32 points, 15 assists, 2 rebounds and 2 steals. Saint Xander broke the tie for first place and led Kripbam, 7-0 to 6-1. However, while Saint Xander emerged victorious, the second half of that game showed a dangerous hole in Saint Xander's game. Mark Spencer found out that playing closer to the basket and going for hook shots over Calvin Jacobs was a very effective offense, and Jacobs was unable to stop it. Things got worse when Calvin Jacobs injured his right shoulder just before the rematch. Kripbam completely dominated Saint Xander in the second round of competition, 83-48 to move up to a tie, 7-1 each. Mark Spencer poured in 51pts 22rebs 8assts 8blks 4stls, while Calvin secretly struggled through his injury to a disappointing 14pts 0rebs 0blks 4assts game and he had 6 turnovers. Calvin struggled through one more game before Kara finally managed to convince him to rest and let the injury heal. He missed the next 4 games, before returning with a vengeance in the final game of the regular season against Zion Hall. Kripbam was also playing their last game of the season that day, and had they lost, Saint Xander would have been awarded the top seed. However, Mark Spencer scored a record 71 points against former champion La Onterio to avoid a loss. Both Kripbam and Saint Xander finished with identical 13-1 records. As Saint Xander lost to Kripbam by a wider margin however, Calvin's team was relegated to second place and was forced to play an eliminator game against the third seeded La Onterio. On Tuesday, November 10, 20XX, behind a rejuvinated Calvin Jacobs, Saint Xander rolled past La Onterio 88-72 and straight for a rubber match against Kripbam. Winner takes all. 'The Finals' SPOILER WARNING The Final game was on November 13, Friday, and was a barn burner. Saint Xander and Kripbam went toe-to-toe, eventually coming down to the final shots. Due to foul problems with Ulric Benneton and Eddie Hill, Louis Vee was inserted into the game at the request of Calvin. It paid off a few seconds later, as Calvin found him wide open onder the basket, and Louis landed a floater to give Saint Xander a 1-point lead with 8.7 seconds to go, 94-93. However, Mozart struck. Quickly dribbling up the court, Mark Spencer evaded two defenders mid-air, and converted on a finger roll from three-point distance. Kripbam led by two, 96-94, with just 4.4 seconds left. Exhausted and on the verge of collapse, Calvin managed to pull one more trick out of his hat. With his girlfriend Kate Mennella in mind, Calvin hit a step-back three pointer to win...before collapsing and fainting from exhaustion and dehydration. To the dismay of Saint Xander fans, the shot was counted as a two-pointer, since Calvin's foot was barely touching the 3-point line when he took the shot. The game was tied, 96-all, and was headed for overtime. With their star player out, and most of their guards plagued by foul trouble, Saint Xander's coach was forced to rely on Louis Vee to lead the team. He eventually managed to score 8 points in overtime, but it was not enough to overcome Mark Spencer, as Kripbam won the title. ''Statistics'' Calvin Jacobs is a 6'0 Point Guard for Saint Xander International School. He wears the number 13 jersey. Like his rival Mark Spencer, Calvin Jacobs is a statistics freak, contributing a substantial portion of his team's production. However, he is prone to injury or fatigue, and was forced to miss a few games. Achievements: Led league in assists (13.9) and steals (4.7) Scored 50 or more points 1 time Scored 30 or more points 4 times Never scored below 14 points Never had 0 assists in a game Had 15 or more assists 8 times Had 10 or more assists 10 times Had 3 or more steals 9 times Season high scoring: 52 Season high rebounds: 9 Season high assists: 20 Season high steals: 9 Season high blocks: 2 Never fouled out of a game League Runner Up Mythical 5 Selection